We all figured it wouldn’t take long for George Pickens to take shots at his former employer the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Considering the source, there could have been any number of outcomes to how he would react on social media after being traded.  But his loan criticism so far kind of hit on the mark.  Pickens accusation of the Steelers being cheap is not something wildly outrageous.  While it may not be the reason at all they moved on from Pickens, it is something this organization has been accused of in the past.  So is George Pickens right?  Are the Steelers as an organization “cheap”?  Let’s dive into it.

Spending actual cash:

Many people will point to the fact that the Steelers pay up to the salary cap every year, which they generally do.  Pittsburgh has traditionally been within a few million dollars of the NFL salary cap each year.  That doesn’t tell the whole story however.  The Steelers have consistently finished near the bottom of the league in actual cash spending.  Cash spending includes salaries, and bonuses given per season.  This is how some teams earn a competitive advantage by being willing to dole out more cash in terms of bonuses.  Pittsburgh has finished 26th, 30th, 24th, 18th, 30th, and 29th in cash spending the last five years.

This franchise is among only three left in the NFL which do not give out guaranteed money beyond the first year for non-quarterback contracts (Bengals and Packers).  This again puts the Steelers at a disadvantage in free agency, and when negotiating with their own players.  The Steelers did make an exception to this in the TJ Watt contract four years ago, but have not done another since.

The Steelers are also one of the few teams not taking advantage of a loophole in the undrafted free agent process.  Teams have a limited budget for signing bonuses they must divide up among all their undrafted free agent signings.  A good number of teams are circumventing this by offering bigger base salaries to ensure they get the best of the undrafted crop.  Not surprisingly, the Steelers do not take part in this loophole.

Coaching Staff:

The Steelers have a long standing policy of not firing coaches before their contracts run out.  This is a policy not out of some deep, well meaning philosophy.  It is in fact a cost saving measure the team employs to save themselves the expense of having coaches on the books no longer employed by the team.  While this may seem like good business sense, it often puts the team in some tough situations.  The Matt Canada situation is a prime example of a coach kept on despite clearly being undeserving of his position.  Eventually even the Steelers had to break their policy in the Canada case.

Then there’s the issue of actual staff size.  In 2024 according to a Steelers Depot study, Pittsburgh had the smallest coaching staff in the league with 19.  That is two fewer than the next smallest staff.  They are five coaches off the league average of 25 per team.  What other explanation for such a small coaching staff be other than simply cost control?  If there was ever evidence of Steelers being cheap, this is the smoking gun. https://steelersdepot.com/2024/06/study-the-steelers-have-the-nfls-smallest-coaching-staff-2024-edition/

Facilities:

The Pittsburgh Steelers have become notorious for being among the bottom teams in the league in the NFLPA team report cards.  They had earned an F from the players two years running, before inching their way to a C- in 2025.  This past year, they earned Fs in ownership and locker room, while earning an F- in treatment of facilities.  Pittsburgh’s workout area. and facilities are among the worst in the league and have been for years.  The team’s refusal to upgrade this is an ongoing example of the “economical” way this franchise goes about its business.  It is also the reason Art Rooney fairs so poorly in this survey year after year.

Conclusion:

So are the Pittsburgh Steelers a cheap organization?  You can certainly make a valid argument for this theory.  We must keep in mind the Rooney family are not independently wealthy as many NFL owners are.  They do not have multi billion dollar industries to fall back on.  The Pittsburgh Steelers are the Rooney’s business, and their main source of income.

Having said that, the Pittsburgh Steelers as a franchise earn over $500 million in revenue every season.  They receive over $400 million just from the NFL television contracts alone.  Subtract out the $225 salary cap, and other expenses and the Rooney’s are doing just fine.  They could certainly afford to spend more on things like the facilities, and coaching staff to say the least.  It does not seem like an outrageous thing to say the Pittsburgh Steelers are “cheap”.  One things for sure, they are certainly not extravagant spenders if you’re looking for a kinder way to put it.

Check out our debate on whether or not Art Rooney would run the Pirates very similar to Bob Nutting if he owned the Pirates on the Steelers Sanctuary YouTube channel https://youtube.com/@steelerssanctuary1072?si=REl5YsNeBmOsFmfD